The Upshot in the Ultimatum
by LJLanham
Summary: A series of related one-shots surrounding the things left unsaid... mostly stemming from "than night" in front of the Hoover building...
1. Seven Months

_**I'm intrigued by HH's idea that "fast forwarding" a few months will thereby skip the dreaded "Moonlighting Curse." I hope he's right. I've got faith in him. He hasn't let me down in six years, I don't think he's gonna start now.**_

_**I am a true BnB shipper… and while I'm very glad they're together, I am bummed about some of the things we'll miss. **_

_**This is a series of one-shots that will address the things left unsaid. I've never attempted a collection of OS before, but I think that this is the best way to address the thoughts that have been floating around my head, LOL. Big thanks to jenlovesbones for sharing her timeline theory! It's fascinating and gave me the throughline for the first OS.  
><strong>_

_**I hope you enjoy… let me know what you think. **_

The Upshot in the Ultimatum

#1

Seven Months

She wrapped her sweater around her ever-expanding midsection, pulling it a little tighter to ward off the chill of early spring. Smiling as she thought about spring and the wonder the season brought with it, she set down the bouquet of wildflowers she'd hastily picked up when she realized she was driving past a florist on the way here.

"I don't know why I'm even here," she muttered to herself, stopping and turning back to the spot that had been her original destination.

"Hi, Mom," she said in a much clearer voice. "It's me, Temperance."

She stopped and rubbed her hands over her well-defined baby bump, a habit she'd taken to more frequently in the past month or so.

"This is silly," she said. "I know you can't hear me. But Booth says you can and… well, he's been right about this kind of thing before… I don't know…"

Pausing again to let out a long sigh, she looked down at the name etched in the stone. _Christine Brennan_. She'd buried her mother under the name she'd know her by… and now she wondered if that is what her mother would have wanted. After all, her father was back in her life and he wasn't Matthew Brennan, he was Max Keenan.

"I'm pregnant," she said in the abrupt way she had. "Nearly seven months. It's more difficult than I imagined… I… I… I find myself wishing you were here, frequently. Booth says its normal to want to share this with you… to seek your advice…"

She stood quietly for several long moments.

"I'm scared, Mom," she said, her voice softer than it was only a few minutes before. "Not about the baby. Everything is going well and women have been having babies for centuries… our bodies are designed for just that purpose…"

Another long pause was accompanied by a sigh.

"It's Booth," she said quietly. "I'm afraid to trust him… I know that sounds bad. We've been together, romantically, now for…well, for about seven months. But we've known each other for years. He's my best friend. He knows me better than anyone. Or, at least I thought he did… But something happened… something that changed everything… and thinking about it makes me question if Booth and I can really make this work…"

She stopped speaking again, gathering her thoughts and unconsciously rubbing her hands over her baby.

"Booth is very impetuous," she said, going on. "I am not. One night that was so long ago now, but often feels like yesterday… Booth came to me and he told me that he wanted to give us a shot…

At first, I didn't even know what he meant. Give what a shot? And I realized then that he meant he wanted us to embark upon a romantic relationship. This is something that I had thought of in the past, but I had no idea that he had, as well. This suggestion seemed to come out of nowhere… I couldn't breathe… I felt trapped…

For a moment, I even thought about being trapped underground in that car with Hodgins.

I couldn't think. I couldn't concentrate on what Booth was saying. He said he knew… like the concept of fate actually existed and we were meant to be together. He said he wanted thirty or forty…or fifty years and my mind went blank.

I had to get away. I had to think. I couldn't think. I told him I couldn't change…

And then he said he had to move on… just like that. No more discussion. No time to think. That was it. All or nothing.

In less than fifteen minutes, we'd gone from fifty years to moving on.

He was supposed to know me. If he really knew me… if he'd thought about me _at all _he would have realized that I can't make a decision that quickly. Not about something like that. I need time. I have to think… to analyze… to mull…

But he couldn't give me that.

The next thing I knew, I was leaving for Indonesia and he for Afghanistan. Seven months. Ironic, isn't it? But those seven months gave me the time I needed to think… to regroup… to learn to understand my feelings…

When we got back to DC, I was ready. I wanted to tell him that he was right, that I wanted to give us a shot. But before I could say anything, he was showing me a picture… of his girlfriend, Hannah. He truly had moved on. He said they were as serious as a heart attack, and I felt as if I was having one.

Once again, I was left on my own… to deal with feelings that I didn't really understand…"

She stopped talking, pausing to once again gather her thoughts.

"Seven months later, Hannah was gone and Booth and I were on our way back. It wasn't an easy road. He was angry. I was isolated. We began to pick up the pieces of our partnership, of our friendship…

And we did it," she added, smiling. "We did it. We made it back… stronger than we were before in many ways.

It was just about seven months after Hannah left that I discovered I was pregnant. Booth was so happy when I told him. He's always wanted another child… We finally began to embark upon that romantic relationship that had been alluded to so long ago. And things are going really well. I am happy. And I believe that Booth is, as well…

So what am I so afraid of?

Booth is always talking about how true love never goes away…and how he's always known that I was his _one_. But if that were really true… then what about those seven months he spent falling for Hannah in Afghanistan? Or the seven months that he lived with her here in DC? Where was his great love for me then?

What happens the next time he wants something that I can't give on the spot? What happens the next time I'm not enough and he decides he has to move on?"

She stopped and thought for a minute about what she was saying. She knew without a doubt that Booth loved her, and she knew that he believed that he always had. But she just couldn't get past the fact that he didn't even give her five minutes to think about it before he just announced that he was moving on. Part of her believed that if he really knew her, if he really loved her… that never would have happened. And now, she didn't only have herself to think about… she and Booth were bringing another life into this insane world that they lived in.

She remembered sitting on the couch in their house in Ohio… it was late and it was a school night. She remembered the excitement of feeling naughty sitting up with her mom and watching the late show movie on TV.

"_Life isn't a fairy tale, Little One," her mother had told her. "But someday you will find your very own prince. He won't be perfect… but he will love you. He will understand you. He won't always get everything right, but he will try very hard. Be patient with him, he probably won't be as smart as you are," her mother added with a laugh as she leaned in and kissed her daughter on the tip of her nose. "But he will be worth every minute of heartache that loving him will bring you."_

Her mother had been right all those years ago. He was worth it. And she was, too. Someday, she'd have the courage to talk to Booth about all of this. She'd present her question to him. But for now, she was going to go home and have dinner with her prince.

She kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them to the top of the tombstone.

"Thanks, Mom," she said quietly before she turned and walked back to her car.


	2. Three Years and a Baby

_**I have no idea at what pace these stories will come, LOL… or how many of them there will be. But I think it's gonna take a few to get through this "that night" issue, and we might tackle a few more of the things left unsaid, as well.**_

_**Thanks to NerdyGirl and JMHaughey for giving this one a read-through, and for their great insights and tweaks. :-) **_

_**As always, I hope you enjoy… and I look forward to your comments!**_

BnB

The Upshot in the Ultimatum

#2

Three Years and a Baby

BnB

"Sweets is publishing that damned book," Booth said, setting his beer down and looking across the table at the two men facing him.

"The one about you and Tempe?" Jared asked.

"Yep," Booth replied, taking another pull from his bottle of Yuengling.

"Wait… Parker's little friend wrote a book about you and Temperance?" Hank asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Not funny, Pops," Booth responded.

"Sorry," Hank said. "Just trying to lighten the mood. These little visits used to be fun, Shrimp. But I don't enjoy sitting here watching you with that hangdog look on your face. What's the problem with the shrink's book?"

After Jared moved back to DC, they had begun the tradition of a monthly night out for the Booth boys. When the schedule allowed for it Booth would bring Parker along, but mostly it was just a chance for Booth and Jared to sit down with their grandfather and for all three of them to keep up with what was happening in the others' lives.

Booth glanced at his brother and then faced his grandfather. With a sigh, he began to tell his story.

"About three years ago," he said. "Sweets wrote this book. He'd been following us around, helping on cases, and we'd been in partners counseling with him for a while. He was supposed to be writing about our working dynamics, our partnership…but he concluded that we were in love with each other and put it in a book for everyone to see. Well… everyone who might read a psychology text, anyway…"

"But you weren't together back then," Hank protested. "I distinctly remember thinking either you were an idiot or I hadn't raised you right because you were missing what was right in front of you."

"Exactly. Which is why the thing never saw the light of day. But with some tweaks and the new direction our relationship has gone… I mean, I guess us having a baby pretty much solidifies his theories… he's decided to go ahead with publishing the fucking thing."

Booth had the good sense to look abashed when his grandfather raised his eyebrows at him.

"Sorry. But the book is a really sore subject. Or at least what happened as a result of the book is."

"What did happen, Seel?" Jared asked.

With a sigh, Booth went on to tell them the rest of the story.

"He also wrote about what he thought was our first case together. He based all of his theories from this jumping off point. Trouble was, that it wasn't our first case. We had actually met a year before the events in Sweets' book, and worked a case together then.

Bones thought it was important that we set the kid straight, so we high-tailed it over to the Hoover. I was reeling. I thought she wanted to correct him on the fact that he said we were in love… but no, not my Bones. She skipped right over that observation… tossed it aside as meaningless psychology, the soft science," he added those last words with air quotes. "… she wanted to tell him about our actual first case… and so we did."

Hank and Jared sat back while Booth regaled them with the tale of their meeting with Sweets, along with the story of their first case.

"… Sweets was going on and on about how I'm a gambler, and how I needed to take a risk when something was that important…"

"Oh god," Jared said. "What did you do?" He glanced at his grandfather. "Seel never could back down from a dare. When we were kids, he'd let Joey Mancioni goad him into almost anything."

Booth rolled his eyes, but he knew his brother was right.

"We left Sweets' office and headed for my truck. But something hit me when we were outside on those steps. I kept hearing Sweets words echo in my head, 'You're the gambler…' and he was right. Bones was totally worth it… we were worth it. So, I went for it. I told her that I wanted give us a shot. I told her that you see couples that have been together forever," he paused and looked up at his grandfather. "Couples like you and Grams. You look at those couples, and there's always this guy… the guy who _knew_. He knew from the moment he met her that she was the woman God put on this earth to complete him. I told her that I was _that_ guy. That I knew. Right from the moment I walked into that lecture hall and our eyes met. I knew. I told her that we could have it all… 30, 40, 50 years… I wanted it all… with her."

"And then what happened?" Jared asked.

"She freaked," Booth replied and took a long pull from his bottle. "Seriously, Jar. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Then _I_ freaked. I started thinking that maybe it was all in my head. That maybe what I was feeling from her wasn't real… that I was only seeing what I wanted to see and that she didn't really feel for me the way I did for her…"

"What did she do, son?" Hank asked with real compassion. Even knowing now how the story ended up, he felt for the obvious pain his grandson was in just telling the story so many years later.

"I was so deep into my own head that I don't even know if I was listening to her," Booth admitted. "All I remember is that she said she couldn't change. I don't even know what that meant. I wasn't asking her to change… I was just asking her to be with me…"

"And for Tempe, that was a change, bro," Jared said as gently as he could, but still firmly enough to show his brother the error of his ways.

"I know that now," Booth said. "But in that moment, I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I just needed to get out of there. I told her I had to move on. She agreed. And so I thought I was right. She didn't love me the way I loved her. I would move on and try to find a way to live without her…"

He took another swig of his beer, trying to shake off the feeling of being back in that night. Things were different now. Bones did love him. They were together, and happy and having a baby… But whenever he thought about that night, it always brought back his doubts. His insecurities when it came to Bones and their relationship. That night, he'd felt like he wasn't enough for her and he ran from his feelings. They had both changed a lot between their separation on opposite ends of the earth, and his relationship with Hannah, and their working their way back together… but sometimes he'd think back to before and wonder if he was really enough to keep an amazing woman like Temperance Brennan happy. And when he was really honest with himself he wondered if what she was willing to give would be enough for him in the long run. He loved her, yes… but he was always the guy who wanted a marriage and family. She was giving him the family… and he hoped it would be enough. Shaking his head and putting himself back into the story he was telling, he went on.

"… so when she told me about the project in Indonesia and that she was considering spending a year in the Maluku Islands, it felt like a kick in the gut. She was trying to distance herself from me… When the Army asked me to re-enlist, I decided to go. It wasn't all about Bones. Parker actually told me I should go… he wanted me to help keep more people from being killed. He is such a selfless kid…"

"So, Tempe went on her dig and you went to Afghanistan," Jared prodded his brother back to the story.

"Yeah," Booth replied.

"And came back with the blonde," Hank jumped in. Hank had never hidden his fondness for Brennan, and he'd barely disguised his disdain for Hannah… only in her presence or Parker's. He'd never minced words with his grandsons and he wasn't about to start now. He'd known Hannah was a mistake from the beginning, but Seeley had seemed happy and that was all he really wanted for him, so he'd kept relatively quiet.

"Not your brightest move, bro," Jared agreed with his grandfather's unspoken scolding.

"Give me a break here," Booth said. "You two are supposed to be on _my_ side. Bones dumped me. She was the one who didn't want me. Was I supposed to sit around and wait forever?"

"No," Hank agreed. "But you might have given her more than five minutes to make such a life-altering decision."

"But that's just it, Pops," Booth said, his exasperation showing. "Bones doesn't need time. Her brain works like a gazillion miles per hour. A couple of years before that, she decided she wanted to have a baby, asked me to donate my little guys to the cause and made an appointment at the fertility clinic… all between breakfast and lunch!"

"If this is still bothering you so much," Hank said. "I think maybe you and Temperance need to sit down and talk it out…"

Booth opened his mouth to interrupt, and his grandfather stopped him with a lift of his hand.

"I have a feeling that baby thing didn't work out back then because you both thought better of it," he went on. "You're doing it the right way this time, and you're both better off. So is my great-granddaughter…"

"You're having a girl?" Jared jumped in, totally changing the subject.

"We don't know yet," Booth said. "Pops is just wishful thinking."

"Anyway," Hank said, reeling the boys back in. "What I'm trying to say is that you and Temperance _have_ changed since the kid wrote that book. Your relationship has changed, as well. I believe you both want it to work out, but you're still hung up on your own insecurities. For a marriage to last," Hank paused, again holding up his hand. "Certificate or not, you know what I mean. You have to be willing to put the other person's needs ahead of your own. I'm not sure you two are really there yet. But I have faith..."

"Me too, Pops," Booth said, dropping some bills on the table. "Thanks."

The men exchanged hugs and Jared offered to drive Hank home. Padme was working late for parent-teacher conferences, and he didn't have to rush home. Booth thanked him and then thanked his grandfather again for his words of wisdom.

Pops was right. He and Bones did have a lot of talking to do.


	3. In the Blink of an Eye

_**AN- Sorry it's been a while. I was hoping to get this finished before the premiere, but I didn't make it. :-) I'm going to try to wrap it up as soon as I can because it's pretty AU now that the new season has started… I think there will be one more after this one… thanks for the great response, and I look forward to hearing what you think about this one.**_

The Upshot in the Ultimatum

#3

In the Blink of an Eye

BnB

Brennan and Angela sat at a window table in their favorite coffee shop. They were enjoying a quiet Sunday morning "girls' day." Both were sipping peppermint tea. Michael was at home with his father and Booth had gone to church. The conversation had waned slightly and both women seemed lost in their own thoughts.

"I want to talk to my attorney."

"Okay," Angela said, drawing out the word while she tried to figure out where her best friend's thought had come from. "Why?"

"I think that need to establish our legal rights when it comes to the baby," Brennan answered, calmly sipping her tea but not looking her friend in the eye. "I'd like to have a custody agreement in place before the baby is born…"

"Whoa," Angela responded, flabbergasted. "What? Why in the world would you need a custody arrangement, Bren? You and Booth are raising this baby together. You _are_ together…"

"For now," Brennan replied.

"Oh my god, Bren," Angela said softly, reaching for her friend's hand across the table. "What happened?"

"What?" Brennan asked. "What do you mean? Nothing's happened…"

"You didn't break up with Booth?"

"No, of course not. Why would you say that?"

"Uh, I don't know," Angela said, her voice taking on both a sarcastic and annoyed tone. "Maybe because you're talking about making custody arrangements…"

"I just want to be prepared, Angela."

Angela's annoyance was toned down a notch or two when she heard the pain and resignation in her friend's voice.

"I know you like to plan ahead, Sweetie," Angela said. "But this isn't something you plan for… 'cause it's not gonna happen."

"You can't know that, Angela."

"Oh yes, I can," Angela told her. "You and Booth are the real deal, Bren. This is it. For both of you. I'm sure of it, and I think you are too. So where is this coming from?"

"Relationships are ephemeral, Angela. Love is just a series of chemical reactions… when the chemistry no longer exists, then neither does the relationship…"

"I know you don't believe that," Angela said. "And neither does Booth. He's in this for the long haul, Bren. You both are."

"I want to believe that," Brennan said softly. "But I'm a scientist, and I have to go with the evidence. The evidence shows this theory to be fact."

"What evidence?"

"The night that we told Sweets about our first case… when we left his office… Booth asked me to give us a shot…"

"What? Why did I not know this?"

"Because it didn't matter, Angela. He changed his mind. He made the offer and then took it back in the blink of an eye."

"I don't believe that."

"It's true," Brennan insisted. "He told me that he'd known we were meant to be… that he'd known it since that first day we met. He said we were like those couples you see who have been together for decades and the man always knew. He said he was that guy, Ang…"

Angela blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"And then he changed his mind."

"What?"

"I was stunned," Brennan went on. "I couldn't think. I didn't know what to say. I told him that I couldn't change…" Pausing, she looked down at the table before saying her next words so softly that Angela almost didn't hear them. "I didn't want to hurt him. I knew I couldn't be what he wanted…"

But Angela did hear her, and the quiet admission caused her tears to fall.

"So, what happened?"

"He said he had to move on," Brennan answered. "Just like that. He didn't even give me time to think about it. This isn't just the kind of decision one makes suddenly…"

Angela gave her the look that usually meant she wasn't buying the clueless act.

"Come on, Bren," she said. "That might be true for most people, but as you well know you are not most people. Sweetie, you always make decisions in the blink of an eye. Remember four years ago when you decided you were going to have a baby and Booth was going to be the father?"

"Of course I do," Brennan replied, unconsciously rubbing a protective hand over her rounded abdomen.

"How much time did it take you to make that potentially life-changing decision?" Angela asked with an arched eyebrow. "About three and a half seconds to hear Sweets tell it." She reached out again to take her best friend's hand in hers. "Sweetie, I get it. This revelation knocked you on your ass. Metaphorically speaking, of course," she added with an eye roll. "You needed time to think about it, but Booth had no way of knowing that. He thought you were rejecting him, and his fight or flight instinct kicked in…"

"Why didn't he fight, Angela?" Brennan looked up with tears shining in her eyes. "Everyone always leaves. Booth was supposed to be the one person in the world who would fight for me."

"Oh Sweetie," Angela said, her heart breaking for her friend. "He is. Booth is your guy… he always has been. But he's human, Bren. I think he was scared, that's all."

"If only he'd given me a little time," Brennan said softly.

The friends sat quietly for several long minutes.

"I just needed time," Brennan said, finally. "I think I figured it out when I was in Maluku. I was going to tell him the night we got back…"

"But he came back with Hannah," Angela finished for her. "Oh Bren, it just wasn't meant to be then. Neither of you were ready… but you are now. Look at you… everyone is right where they're supposed to be."

"But for how long?"

"Oh, I don't know… forever?" Angela said with a smile.

"Or until I do something to disappoint him," Brennan said on a sigh.

"Oh honey," Angela said. "That's not going to happen."

"I'm sure that's what Hannah thought," Brennan replied.

"Brennan," Angela said firmly. "This isn't you. It has to be the hormones talking. I know it's tough to keep on an even keel when you've got all those baby-making hormones surging through your body, but you've got to try to push them aside and think rationally…" she paused with an awkward little laugh. "I can't believe _I'm_ telling _you_ to think rationally… "

"I am thinking rationally, Angela," Brennan said. "I may be pregnant, and awash in hormones, but I am still a scientist. I have considered the evidence."

"More evidence?" her friend asked skeptically, as her friend nodded and went on.

"Booth proposed to Rebecca when she found out she was pregnant, but their relationship ended after she refused to marry him… In all the years we've known him, he hasn't had a serious relationship until Hannah… and the same thing happened. He asked her to marry him, she said 'no' and he told her to leave. She told me that he wouldn't even talk to her, he just told her to get her things out of his apartment…"

Angela listened as her friend went on. Brennan seemed to be talking it out, more for her own benefit than Angela's.

"… Booth has impossibly high standards when it comes to relationships, and it's only a matter of time before I do something to disappoint him… I'm afraid," she said, looking up at Angela. "I'm afraid of what will transpire when that happens."

"It's not going to happen, Bren," Angela said. "Your fears are real, and I'm proud of you for recognizing them for what they are. But listen to me… I know you don't believe in fate, but I do… and Booth does. You are his 'forever', Bren. That is why things didn't work out with Rebecca or Hannah or anyone in between. They weren't meant to. Even if he didn't know it then, Booth was waiting for you. He was making sure that he was going to be available when the right time came along. Even this last year with Hannah… Sweetie, that had to happen to get you both to where you are today."

"I don't know, Ang…"

"I do. So just hear me out, okay? It's natural for you to feel this way… good, even. But you're not the only one. Booth has been there, too. He was a mess when you were thinking of going away with Sully… and when you came back from England?" Angela shook her head, smiling. "He kept going on and on about British anthropologists…"

Angela looked Brennan in the eye to see that she was really hearing what she was saying.

"…and you were wrong about one thing, Sweetie. Booth _has _had a serious relationship since we met him. With you. I've told you before, and it's true. You might not have been having sex, but you and Booth were in a relationship for years. That night you told me about before you went to Maluku? That was kind of like a break-up for Booth. Hannah? She's the rebound girl… the consolation prize. It was never going to work out. She was just Booth's way of licking his wounds. He might be a great guy, but he's still a guy…"

She waited for a minute for her friend to absorb was she had told her.

"Booth said she wasn't a consolation prize," Brennan said quietly.

"He was kidding himself," Angela said. "Ask him now."

"I don't know…"

"Trust me, Brennan. What you're going through, it's normal. And in a real, long-term, committed relationship… you just have to talk these things through. You lucked out because Booth is the kind of guy you can talk about this kind of stuff with. Go to him, honey. Tell him what you're feeling. I know it will make you feel better."

"Thanks, Ang. We're meeting later for lunch," Brennan said. "I think maybe you're right. We do need to talk."

"Anytime, Sweetie. Anytime. That's what best friends are for."


	4. The SevenYear Itch

_**AN- Here it is… finally. I don't know if anyone is even still interested in this one- and it didn't go quite the way I planned. "The talk" ended up focusing more on Booth's mistakes and choices than Brennan's. I wanted it to be a bit more balanced, but sometimes you have to let the story tell itself. Here it is in it's raw state- un-beta'd and untested. **_

_**It's been a long time since I've written anything and it will mean a lot to hear what you have to say about this one… so please take a minute to leave a review!**_

The Upshot in the Ultimatum

#4

The Seven-Year Itch

"Bones!" Booth called out as he walked through the front door of their home.

"Back here, Booth!" she answered from the direction of the kitchen.

Booth tossed his jacket over the end of the banister and walked down the hall to the back of the house. He entered the kitchen and walked up behind where Brennan stood in front of the range. Placing his hands on her hips as he leaned over her shoulder to place a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Where's Parker?" she asked, turning around to greet him with a proper kiss. "I thought you two would be hungry after your game, so I was making Hank's grilled cheese."

"I still can't believe he showed you how to make those," Booth said, laughing as he sat down at the breakfast bar. "It's supposed to be a secret Booth family recipe."

"I _am_ family," she answered with a wink, rubbing her hands over the bulge in her midsection that currently housed their daughter.

"Yes," he replied. "You are. Turn that off and come here," he said.

Her brow furrowed as she complied with his request.

"Parker is at a friend's," he told her, reaching out for her hand. "I have to go and get him later. I thought this might be a good time for us to talk."

Brennan had known this moment was coming, and she even agreed that they needed to get some things out in the open… but she wasn't expecting it right now. She didn't expect Booth to actually bring it up, especially not in the middle of their weekend with Parker.

"We do," she agreed, allowing him to take her hand as he led her out to the sofa on the other side of the great room. "But what made you decide that now is the time?"

"Parker," he answered. When she didn't speak, just looked at him with that cute look of confusion on her face, he went on. "He's got a crush on a little girl at school," he said with a sigh. Parker being interested in girls was something else he wasn't ready for, but his son was smack in the middle of his tween years and he knew this was only the beginning. "He asked me for advice."

"An expected rite of passage," she said quietly, softly rubbing circles with her thumb over the top of his hand.

"I know," he replied. "But I didn't expect him to do it so soon…"

"He's nearly twelve," she told him. "In today's society, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, actually."

"I guess," he said, bringing their joined hands to his lips and kissing the tips of her fingers. "He's so smart…" he went on, pausing to smile as he looked into her grey-blue eyes. "A lot of that is your doing," he added with a wink. "But I just never realized how intuitive he could be…"

"_That_ is your doing," she added, smiling back at him.

"He doesn't want to repeat my mistakes," he said with a sigh. "He asked me about his mom… about you and me… and Hannah…"

If there was something she was expecting to hear, this wasn't it.

"He knows we're the real deal, Bones… that you're it for me. He asked me when I knew that you were the one."

Realizing where this was going, she nodded for him to continue.

"I told him the truth," he said. "That I knew the minute I saw you that you were going to be an important force in my life. I can look back now and realize that love at first sight is just a romantic notion… but I knew there was something incredibly special about you. It wasn't until that second year, when we started working together permanently… I think that's when I really knew…"

He paused, letting out a long breath before leaning in to kiss her forehead.

"Parker asked me if I'd known for that long, if I really loved you as much as I say I do… how then could I have even been with Hannah, much less ask her to marry me."

"I've been wondering the same thing," Brennan said honestly.

"Me, too," he said. "God, Bones… you know I love you, right? I mean… I screwed up. I think we both did… but it brought us here, and you and me- we're solid, right?"

"Of course," she answered as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "Of course we are, Booth." She took his face in her hands so that he could see all the love she had for him reflecting in her eyes. "But I have to admit that I've been thinking a lot lately myself. I find that I need to ask you a question."

"Anything," he said immediately, reaching out to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "You can always ask me anything."

"Why did you give up?" she asked.

That wasn't what he was expecting.

"What?"

"I mean, you're always talking about how you have to fight for what's right… fight for what you believe in… If you were so sure that we were, as you say, meant to be… then why didn't you fight for us? I didn't say what you wanted to hear, so you just gave up on us- on me."

"Bones," he said, "Baby. I could never give up on you."

"But you did," she answered. "You went from 30, 40, 50 years to I have to move on…"

"I was protecting myself," he said. "I just couldn't handle another rejection…"

"But I wasn't rejecting you," she insisted.

"That's not what it sounded like at the time."

"And I thought you were the one person in the world I could count on who would never leave me… never give up on me…"

"I won't," he answered. "I wouldn't."

"That's not what it felt like at the time," she answered, playing on his words.

"We both made mistakes, Bones," he said. "Big ones… but… but I can't regret any of them because they brought us here. Look at where we are, Baby. We made it."

"I suppose we did," she replied. "But our story could have had a very different outcome."

"Yeah," he said. "It could have… and I shudder to think about that."

"What if she had said 'yes,' Booth?"

"She wouldn't have," he answered. "I think that somewhere down deep I knew that… and that's why it was safe to ask. I think that maybe subconsciously I knew she'd turn me down and then I would have an excuse to walk away. Part of me was never with Hannah," he said. "And that part grew exponentially after that night in Anacostia."

"That was a pretty big risk to take," she said quietly, looking down at her lap.

Placing his finger under her chin, he brought her up to look in his eyes.

"I'm the gambler," he said, smiling. "I was betting on us. You and me, Bones. It's always been you and me."

"That's not what you said that night," she replied, looking away again.

"Bones," he said. "That night… It really felt like a break-up, and even though it was the last thing I wanted, I really thought I had to force myself to move on. Hannah… she was the rebound girl."

"But you said she wasn't a consolation prize."

"I know," he said. "I was reeling… You were basically telling me that I could have everything I'd always wanted, but I knew I couldn't. I was in a relationship with Hannah. I had to honor that commitment. I wanted nothing more than to take you in my arms and kiss the daylights out of you that night, but I couldn't. I said the one thing I could that would keep me from doing just that.

I'm so sorry that I hurt you… again," he went on. "But you have to know that I've never stopped loving you. Never."

"Do you remember the case we had shortly after that," she said. "The one with the sister wives?"

"I do," he said, allowing her to go on.

"You said that you can love a lot of people in your life…"

"…but there's only one that you love the most," he said, finishing the thought for her. "I meant that Bones. It was always you."

She started to laugh, quietly at first… but soon, it was that full-blown throaty laugh that he loved to hear.

"Not that I'm complaining," he said. "But what is so funny?"

"One of the things I love so much about you," she said, calming down, "is also the one thing about you that makes me so angry. I find irony very funny."

"What one thing is that?" he asked.

"Your damned chivalry," she said. "You always put everyone else first. If you had only put your own needs and wants …"

"I know," he said, stopping her with a kiss. "I know. But from now on, you come first. You, Parker and our beautiful baby girl." He leaned in and placed a kiss on her baby bump, right on top of her shirt. "Our family, Bones. God, I love you so much."

They sat quietly for a few minutes before he broke out in laughter.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Most couples are actually together before they reach their seven-year itch," he said. "Are we ever gonna do things like everyone else?"

"I doubt that very much, Booth," she said, leaning in for a kiss. "I doubt that very much."


	5. Every Other Weekend and

_**So here it is… the last of the "upshots." I still think that maybe I gave Booth's fears/Brennan's mistakes the short shrift… but the story has a way of telling itself. **_

_**Thanks to everyone who alerted and favorited this story- please take a minute to leave a review now that it's through. It would really mean a lot… and serve as great motivation for me to start another story. :- ) **_

_**Without further ado… again, un-beta'd and untested. Let me know what you think.**_

The Upshot in the Ultimatum

#5

Every Other Weekend, and Two Weeks in the Summer

She looked up as her office door was slammed open, colliding with the glass wall behind it.

An involuntary shudder ran through her body when she saw the look on his face. She'd never seen him this angry.

He slammed the door behind him and stopped toward her desk.

"What the _fuck_ is this?" he seethed, slamming a manila envelope down on the desk.

"It appears to be an envelope," she said calmly.

"Don't play the obtuse card with me, Bones," he said. "Not now."

"I'm not playing at anything, Booth," she replied, now becoming annoyed with his confrontation.

"Why in the hell did you serve me with custody papers?" he asked. "What the hell is going on?"

"I didn't serve you with custody papers, Booth," she replied.

"You sure as hell could have fooled me," he said, pulling the legal documents from the envelope. "Looks a hell of a lot like custody papers to me."

Brennan reached out to take the documents from him. She flipped through them, reading.

"You weren't served, Booth. They were supposed to be delivered to me."

"And that makes me feel so much better," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Why would you even have these drawn up?"

"To be prepared," she answered, as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

"Prepared for breaking up our family?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Bones, I just don't get it. I thought things were going well for us. The house is almost finished… the baby will be here any day…"

"We are," she answered.

"Then why?" he said, his anger having dissipated into confusion.

Slowly, she got up from behind the desk and made her way around to him.

"Come sit with me," she said, as she ambled over to the sofa. She waited for him to sit next to her before she continued. "I had the agreement drawn up for you," she said. "I just wanted to make sure you knew that when something happens between us, you'll be protected. You'll have rights. I'll never keep our daughter away from you the way Rebecca has with Parker, Booth."

"When something happens between us?" he asked. "You seem pretty sure." Despite his best efforts, his earlier sarcasm bled back into the conversation.

"Booth," she said, taking his hand. "I've never been good at relationships. And you… you have a history of holding your romantic partners to a very high standard. It's only a matter of time before I do something to disappoint you…"

"What?" Booth was genuinely shocked. "You _are_ the standard, remember? Maybe I did hold others to too high a standard, but that's just because they weren't you."

"That's a very romantic notion, Booth," she replied. "But if you look objectively at the evidence… You asked Rebecca to marry you, she turned you down and the relationship was over. You asked Hannah to marry you, she refused and you kicked her out of your apartment… There will come a time that I do something you don't like…"

"No way, Bones," he said. "Baby, this is it. You are it for me. There is nothing you can do that's going to make me leave you. I'm not going anywhere."

"That's what Angela said," she told him, leaning in to snuggle against his side. "She told me that drawing up a custody agreement was a bad idea."

"Angela was right," he said, leaning over to kiss her temple.

"I'm scared, Booth," she said, softly.

"I know, Baby," he replied, pulling her close.

"I know that we talked about what happened before we went away," she said. "And intellectually, I understand why you did what you did. But part of me is still afraid that I won't be enough…"

"Me, too," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"Come on, Bones," he said. "Look at you. I mean, my god. Not only are you drop-dead gorgeous, but you're like… the smartest woman in the world, you're a rich and famous author… you could have your pick of guys. I mean really, you could do a lot better than a schmuck like me. I'm afraid one day you're gonna figure that out and go running off to some dig in Timbuktu and I'll never see you again."

"I still don't think I can change, Booth," she said with a sigh. "But I can promise that I'm not going to leave. I won't accept a dig or any project that includes long-term travel without discussing it with you first."

"That's all I ask," he said. "We can make this work, Bones, but we have to do it together."

She nodded, but didn't speak.

"What?" he asked, gently rubbing her hands between his.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, you know," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she repeated. "I may be smart, and talented, and rich, and beautiful…"

"…and modest," he interrupted with a laugh.

"But you are amazing, Booth. You have the biggest metaphorical heart I've ever seen… you are a born leader… people look up to you. You are extremely good-looking, and it's more than just being well-structured. I see the way women look at you everywhere we go. And some men, too…"

"Hey…"

She laughed as she went on.

"You could have any woman that you wanted, Booth. And sometimes I wonder why you've wasted so much time with me."

"Stop that," he said. "Right now."

He took their joined hands and placed her hands on her rounded abdomen.

"Is she a waste of time?" he asked.

"Of course not," she answered.

"That's right," he said. "No time spent between us has been wasted. So I don't want to hear you talk like that again."

"Yes, sir," she answered with a smile and a soft kiss on his cheek.

"It's funny," he said.

"What?"

"Most people think we have it all together," he answered. "They see a brilliant scientist and a hot-shot FBI agent… fearless… They'd be surprised to see that we're vulnerable to insecurities just like everyone else."

"I used to be impervious," she said.

"And I used to be impertinent," he said, bringing her hand to his lips.

"Oh, you're still as cocky as they come, Agent Booth," she said, "but I wouldn't have you any other way."

"Thank god," he said. "Come on, Bones. Let's go home."

"Home," she repeated. "I like the sound of that." 


End file.
